[Sands] Ranger - Dune Sentinel (Patreon)

I really love rangers, and it's not a secret. I think I had "Ranger's Guide" as one of the old theme options, simply because I wanted to see how far I could take the ranger idea. Regardless - I started out with a Fighter because I wanted to try something different, but the location-specific theme of desert really called to a harsh-environment-wandering ranger. The concept itself is a bit specific for general use, but it's still fun nevertheless.

How do Rangers usually work?

> Rangers, being half-caster martial classes, have pretty aligned subclass design. Their 3rd level is a utility and offense feature (usually with a +1d6 on hit), their 7th level is a defense, their 11th level (coinciding with the power spike) is high offense, and their 15th level is a defensive one.

What does the Dune Sentinel offer?

 At 3rd level, the Dune Sentinel picks up a utility cantrip and some expanded desert survival flavor, which is flavorful, but not too strong. It also gets an option that lets it deal either extra damage or slow enemies, which is great flavor for the "sinking into sand" feel. The trade-off versatility is nice and combos at 5th level when Extra Attack allows ranged rangers to both deal extra damage and slow their enemies. Speed reduction is generally situational anyways, so it's probably not too strong.

At 7th level, the ranger gets a defensive and utility option - a limited use feature allowing for both better travel and combat maneuverability. Combos pretty well with speed reduction if needed.

11th level brings access to a 3rd level utility spell (Fey Wanderer brings an offensive one). Aside from that, the real benefit is now you get to deal the extra 1d6 twice - seems strong until you consider that Horizon Walkers get to deal 2d8 force damage at 11th level!

15th rounds it all out with a defensive feature that builds on the Sand Stream feature. You can use the reaction to move via the feature while gaining resistances. It's most similar to Swarmkeeper, except Swarmkeeper gets separate uses of this feature. So to make up for it, you can use a limited version of it for free (keep in mind this only applies to reaction-based uses).

Hope you all like it, because I'd love to try it out one day.

Also, I tried making another art piece for a subclass. I actually think it's pretty good, and would consider making more in the future, though not too often. These take twice as long as drawing an item, and given how long a subclass takes to design, would mean a subclass takes 4x as long!

Also I wanted, but refrained from making "Sand is coarse and rough" jokes.